Part A: Background to the Activity

National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020

Protecting Children is Everyone’s Business: National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020 was endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) on 30 April 2009. The overarching aim of the National Framework is the achievement of the high-level outcome that “Australia’s children and young people are safe and well” measured against the set target of “a substantial and sustained reduction in child abuse and neglect in Australia over time” (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009a:11). The National Framework, comprising six (6) supporting outcomes with inherent strategies and indicators of change, provides the first long-term, comprehensive national approach to child protection in Australia.

The Community and Disability Services Minsters’ Conference (CDSMC) has been given overall management for the staged implementation of the National Framework through a series of three-year action plans. Within the first of these plans, Implementation Plan 2009-2012 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009b), twelve (12) national priorities have been identified as major foci for both the government - at Commonwealth, state and territory levels - and non-government sectors to action. To progress the implementation of the national priorities, the National Framework Implementation Working Group (NFIWG) was established with various sub-working groups formed to accomplish specific areas of action.

Transitioning to independence - a national priority

Transitioning to independence¹ is one of the 12 national priorities identified in the National Framework’s Implementation Plan 2009-2012. For this priority, the specific areas of action to be addressed in relation to young people transitioning from out-of-home care² to independence are:

• increasing support through non-government organisations to assist young people leaving care to better establish their independence; and
• providing better support for young people as they leave care through State and Territory government initiatives (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009b:18).

While work towards achieving these outcomes commenced as early as July 2009, when the Commonwealth Government increased the Transition to Independent Living Allowance (TILA) from $1000 to $1500, other key strategies identified as essential for this priority are:

• reviewing and reporting on TILA to ascertain whether improved outcomes have been achieved for young people leaving care; and
• on-going development and implementation of nationally consistent approaches to non-financial support for young people leaving care (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009b:18).

Developing a Work Plan for transitioning to independence

To progress the development of nationally consistent working arrangements and approaches for the provision of support services for young people in care transitioning to independence, the National Framework Implementation Working Group (NFIWG) - Transitioning to Independence Sub-Working Group (herein, referred to as the NFIWG Transitioning to Independence Sub-Working Group) is developing a Work Plan that will be submitted to NFIWG for consideration.

Consultation with key stakeholders was initiated through a discussion paper developed by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA, 2010), which drew on national and international seminal research work on transitioning from care. The paper proposed an implementation framework based on a series of short-, medium- and long-term goals for a nationally consistent approach to transitioning to independence. The proposed framework was based on the premise that the success of transitioning from care to independence for young people leaving care is optimised when the types and levels of support provision take into account:

• the individual needs of young people in-keeping with the cumulative effects of their pre-care family experiences and placement history;
• the phased process of transitioning (beginning with a preparation phase, then moving to the transition phase and culminating in an after care phase); and
• a planned approach to transition identifying the required supports for each phase based on individual needs the key areas of:
  • safe and sustainable housing
  • education
  • employment
  • financial security
  • social relationships and support networks
  • health - physical, emotional (including self-esteem and identity), mental and sexual
  • life and after care skills. (FaHCSIA, 2010:4-6,8-12).

CREATE Foundation was one of the key stakeholders consulted given that it:

• is the peak national body representing the voices of all children and young people in out-of-home care and advocates to improve the care system, through consultation with children and young people, ensuring that their voices are heard by key decision makers in government and out-of- home care sector stakeholders; and
• has produced two seminal research reports that specifically addressed transitioning from care (McDowall, 2008 & 2009).

However, in accordance with the partnership arrangements set down in the Implementation Plan 2009-2012 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009b:30), consultation with “... young people themselves, as opposed to just those who represent them ...” needed to be sought as it is considered essential “... to getting the implementation and delivery of the National Framework right, because it is children and young people who will be most affected by it.”

Including the “voice” of young people with a care experience

CREATE Foundation has established a reputation for empowering young people through its various programs (eg. Create Your Future) but, especially, through our National Youth Advisory Council (NYAC) and Youth Advisory Group (YAG) in each state and territory, to advocate effectively to enhance the care experience for children and young people.

NYAC and YAG’s advocacy has been very strong in the area of transitioning from out-of-home care to independence, given CREATE’s recent research work in transitioning from care which found that approximately 65% of young people transition form care without a plan (McDowall, 2009:63) and resulted in the What’s the Plan? Campaign targeting young people aged 15-18 years with the specific objective of increasing the number who participate in the development of their Leaving Care Plan.

To ensure that young people with a care experience were given the opportunity to have their voices heard and their opinions included in the draft Work Plan for the national priority Transitioning to independence, CREATE Foundation was funded by FaHCSIA to undertake the activity National Youth Advisory Council input into a national strategy to improve Transitioning to Independence from Out of Home Care.

The activity required that CREATE facilitate contributions from members of the National Youth Advisory Council (NYAC) and other young people, representative of the diverse range of needs of this group, in:

• the development of a strategy to identify key priorities and practical solutions in assisting young people transitioning out of care to gain full independence; and
• support the NFIWG Transitioning to Independence Sub-Working Group to provide advice and direction on initiatives that will lead to better social and economic outcomes for young people.

The CREATE Activity

To provide young people’s input into the draft Work Plan for transitioning to independence in order to support the work of the NFIWG Transitioning to Independence Sub-Working Group, CREATE determined that the activity would involve the capture of the views of young people with a care experience about the process of transitioning from out-of-home care to independence by conducting a series of consultations.

As CREATE has captured already the “voices” of 678 young people relating to issues associated with transitioning from out-of-home care to independence using three (3) surveys in two (2) recent and current research projects³, this activity would comprise:

• australia-wide consultations with each State and Territory’s Youth Advisory Group (YAG) based on key themes identified in recent CREATE Report Cards and other published research. These discussions focused on confirming that the issues raised were of current concern, exploring the positive aspects of a young person’s transition, articulating the barriers which mitigate against transitioning successfully, and investigating the availability and appropriateness of support services.
• a one-day NYAC Forum in which delegates identified and discussed actions and practical solutions relating to the key issues raised by the young people in addition to those outlined in the FaHCSIA discussion paper for the three-phased approach of transitioning to independence.

The YAG consultations included special groups of young people leaving care including those with disabilities and some with experience in Juvenile Justice (see Case Studies for examples of these responses). In addition, the proceedings of the NYAC Forum were video recorded and a DVD prepared from edited highlights.

The CREATE Report: What’s the Answer?

This report, What’s the Answer?, presents the solutions that the young people consulted in this activity consider pivotal for effecting improvements in the transitioning process from out-of-home care to independence if better social and economic outcomes are to be achieved.

In the next section of this report, Part B: Key Issues, some of the main discussion points surrounding transitioning from care are introduced. Part C: Methodology, presents an outline of the methods used in the consultation process, with further details provided in Appendices A-F. The results of the consultations are presented in Part D: Key Findings and Recommendations.